1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in the design of stringed instruments. More particularly, the invention concerns an improvement for stringed musical instruments in the family comprising the guitar, the mandolin and the lute.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Stringed instruments produce sound by controlled vibration of stretched strings. This may be done by drawing a bow across the strings as in the violin, or by plucking the strings as in the harp and guitar. Typically, the stringed instrument comprises a hollow wooden body, a long neck connected to the wooden body and at least four strings extending along the length of the body. In the case of the guitar, the mandolin and the lute, plucking the strings creates vibrations which are transmitted to the hollow body causing the hollow body to vibrate, thereby amplifying and enriching the sound produced. The pitch of the note produced by any stringed instrument depends upon the length, weight and tension of the string with a shorter, lighter or tighter string producing a higher note.
One of the most popular of the stringed instruments is the acoustic guitar. Like other stringed instruments, the acoustic guitar comprises a hollow body, a neck connected to the hollow body, and typically six or twelve strings extending along the length of the neck of the instrument. At one end, the strings are connected to a bridge which in turn is connected to the upper wall of the hollow body. The opposite end of the strings are connected to machine heads which are carried by a head stock that is provided proximate the outboard end of elongated neck. Disposed intermediate the bridge and the head stock, is a sound hole or aperture formed in the hollow body immediately below the tensioned strings.
In the traditional guitar, the sound hole faces the audience and in a direction away from the player. Accordingly, the player does not hear the full volume or tonal qualities of his instrument due to the fact that the player is situated behind the instrument. This situation is similar, for example, to listening to a person talking while their back is turned. The spoken words would be more audible and more pleasurable to listen to if the conversation were face to face. Additionally, in the traditional guitar, the source of the sound vibrations are centered at the bridge of the instrument. When the strings are plucked, the bridge transfers the sound vibrations to the rest of the hollow body or "sound box" and every inch of the sound box then vibrates and emits its particular sound wave. In an instrument such as the guitar, the sound vibrations are compressed and trapped within the instrument and are only released from the single sound hole which is traditionally located on the top of the hollow body at a location beneath the tensioned strings.
The thrust of the present invention is to provide a stringed instrument, such a guitar, that emits superior sound effects as a result of the combination between a bridge of radically new design and a hollow body or sound box of an improved design having a plurality of sound holes located at strategic locations on the top, bottom and along the sides of the hollow body. By strategically locating the sound holes or sound ports, at spaced apart locations on the hollow body, a pleasing stereo sound effect is achieved due to the fact that, depending on the location of the sound port, the volume and tonal quality of the sound vibrations released are different. This is because the source of the vibrations are centered at the bridge of the instrument. Therefore, sound ports near the bridge will sound differently from sound ports located further away. Also, the spaced apart sound ports of the instrument will project sound frequencies as a function of their proximity to different gauged strings. For example, a sound port located near a 0.052 gauge string will emit stronger bass frequencies than a sound port situated further away. Similarly, a sound port situated closer to a high, 0.012 gauge string will project a higher frequency vibration.
An additional advantage of the multi-sound hole design of the hollow body of the stringed instrument of the present invention resides in the fact that better sound recognition is achieved for the player of the instrument. More particularly, due to the unique design of the hollow body of the instrument of the present invention, the player is better able to hear sound vibrations emanating from various locations. Accordingly, the player's tone recognition coupled with the clarity of the sounds emanating from the hollow body will enable the player to enjoy radically improved sound recognition. Additionally, by locating the sound holes at various locations on the top, sides and back of the instruments, sound vibrations will be emitted in different directions, thereby creating a "surround sound" effect, which is both pleasing to the audience and of substantial assistance to the artist in his recognition of the sound and tonal qualities coming from the instrument.
Contributing to the enhanced capabilities of the stringed instrument having the multi sound hole, hollow body design, is the novel design of the bridge of the instrument. More particularly, the bridge of one form of the instrument of the present invention comprises an extended bridge that extends from the bottom of the standard bridge to the bottom wall of the instrument. This extended bridge may take the form of a cylindrically shaped solid member or alternatively, a hollow tubular member. With this construction when the strings are plucked the bridge vibrates the top board of the instrument and the extended bridge functions to transfer the same vibrations to the back board making it vibrate as well. This direct connection between the top and bottom walls of the hollow body makes the two walls or sound boards vibrate instead of only one as in the conventional instrument. As a result, substantially improved volume and sound dynamics are achieved.